Monday, November 29, 2010

It's an iconic holiday table scene; you carving a juicy, perfectly pink prime rib while a roomful of friends and family watches, in awe of your awesomeness.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it's sometimes more like you cutting through a dry, overcooked roast while they stare daggers at you.

You can almost hear them thinking, "Way to screw up $80 worth of beef, jerk. I hope there's lots of gravy."

Well, hopefully this proven mathematical method will increase your chances for success significantly. This is a new video revisiting the same method I featured in this Prime Rib post a few years ago, which only used photos. There are lots of great comments on the original post, and if you're skeptical, you should go check them out.

Here is the formula for what was called, "Method X." The rib is brought to room temperature. Overnight is good, but at least 6 hours (this is CRITICAL)! Season anyway you like. Then multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes. For me it was 5.35 x 5 = 26.75 minutes, which we round up to 27.

The rib is cooked at 500 degrees F for exactly that many minutes. Then the oven is turned off. You wait 2 hours without opening the door. You then remove the prime rib and slice into the most perfectly medium-rare meat you've ever seen. By the way, I will be posting a short how-to for a quick au jus soon. Enjoy!

Special Notes:

To use this method you must have a full-sized, modern oven. It must have a digital temperature setting that indicates when it is preheated. Older ovens with manual controls can vary greatly, and the doors may not have the proper insulation.

I've heard from lots of people that have used electric ovens and reported great results.

This is a specific formula for achieving a perfectly pink prime rib cooked somewhere a shade under medium rare. I have no info on altering it for other degrees of doneness.

IMPORTANT PRO TIP!!!: Prime rib is very expensive, so no matter what method you use (traditional or Method X), you should always have a probe-style thermometer inserted so that the internal temp can be monitored, to avoid any chance of over-cooking. Set the probe alarm (125 F. for medium-rare) just in case, and pull the roast from oven even if there's still time left on the timer.

168 comments:

how about grilling the rib? will that work for this recipe? reason i'm asking is, we grill every new year's eve with out friends at their B&B - the only thing they have is a grill. i'm planning to do this for the celebration.

Hello there Chef! I've been following your videos for a while, and I really admire your dedication and how refreshing is to watch each of your videos and posts.I was just wondering, in this recepie, what would be the ecuation to have this prime bif well done? Since we are not too much into medium rare meats.Thanks and I will be commenting more often on your videos. Gusto en saludarle! Desde Mexico con afecto!Warmest regards.

Awesome recipe. It has worked for me on several occasions. I actually found this blog by looking for a prime rib recipe a while back and found "method X" to be right on the money.

I really can't wait for the au jus recipe to follow this up.

To the person asking if you can do a prime rib on the grill. Absolutely, I've done quite a few but the problem is temp control. While I would normally argue that everything taste better on the grill, this is one piece of meat I prefer in the oven.

chef john, i have a VERY important question. i haven't made steak my whole 21 yrs of living and the problem is i don't have an oven, only a broiler. can i cook steak on a broiler?p.s.-i take your word over my eyes every single time ;)

Hi Chef John,This beef looks amazing! I've always used the low heat 250 deg method from "the best recipe" cookbook & setting my oven probe for 135deg for medium rare with great results. But this is intriguing & I have to try it!

My question is this, do we always have to leave it in the oven for 2 hours even if roasting just one bone? And what about a bigger joint say 4 bones? Thanks and your videos are phenomenal!

Hi Chef John,This is C again. Ignore my questions abt the 2 hr wait for 1 or more ribs, obviously it gets taken care of by the math formula...don't u just hate it when the lightbulb goes on in your head only after u hit the send button?

Why not cook the prime rib (or standing rib roast) sous vide and then finish it in a 500-degree oven for 25 minutes? That's my plan for Christmas dinner.

I have a medium-sized beer cooler that I use as my sous vide station. I heat the water to a boil then add enough room-temp water to get it to within 2 degrees of my desired temperature then monitor it every 30-45 minutes and add enough boiling water to keep it at the temperature I'm looking for (normally 135) and let it sit in the sous vide for four hours (then crust it in a pre-heated 500 degree oven). Perfect every time!

Both work great if done properly! Yes, traditional is warmer, but much less gently cooked, which can effect the texture. This internal temp of 125 is only going to be so warm anyway. I've never really seen true "hot" rare prime rib.

Looking forward to the Au Jus Chef!Have done the Prime Rib a couple of times over the year. Came close to blowing it this Thanksgiving...room temperature was 77 degrees and I left it in 15 mins extra...beef came out 139 degrees...Ouch! It was a 6.55 pound bone-in roast.

I made this for the first time last year for Christmas. I hope Trader Joes brings back their prime ribs - perfect size for a small group. Method X is truly the secret weapon you must have to achieve the ultimate in prime rib perfection. Used it 2 or 3 times now - perfect - always perfect! Thanks Chef John! Really looking forward to receiving Michele's BBQ sauce too.

Chef John. I have just discovered your site and must say am looking forward to trying out some of these recipes. I noticed however, that you list the ingredients and not the actual instructions. Therefore, while I watch the video, I usually take notes. This is fine by me, but I am just curious if you will start putting instructions down for your recipes?

Looks delicious Chef! What if I'm using a convection oven, do I need to decrease the heat to make up for the convection? Or should I use the regular baking mode? There's also a convection roast setting, as well as a regular roast setting, would it be better to use one of those?

Man, I was hoping to try out this recipe for Christmas but my parents come home with a rib eye roast. Any idea how long it should be cooked per pound? My dad wants to cut the thing in half so we can serve different wellness's but won't that affect the juiciness?

I want to make this tomorrow morning for a work lunch, I have a 7.85 lb rib roast, so that's like 39 minutes. I'm worried that after it's done and I'm ready to transport it like 15 minutes away that the roast will go past the medium to medium rare mark and be over done. Chef John, would you recommend slicing it at home or keeping the roast intact (without rib bones of course) and slicing at work? Hopefully someone can give me some good advice!

It wont be over done, it will be too cold. Prime rib is not really something you can cook and take to someones home. After the 2 hours in the oven it is just warm. If you used a traditional method, and drove it over during the 20 minute resting time, you would be ok, but I wouldn't use this method.

CJ, thanks! That helps a lot. So I would then cook this beast to medium rare (or even rare)using the traditional method, then the 20 minutes resting on my drive to work will get it to the sweet spot. It stinks because I really wanted to use this method!

I have a 20lb prime rib bone in. You suggested cooking it the traditional method. Should I cut it in half. I am concerned I will have to cook the ends well done in order to get the center rare. What are your thoughts and what is a good traditional method? Silly me, first time cooking a prime rib and I buy a 20lb, prime grade no less. I must be nuts.

Well I hope this works, I am 1:38 away from the finished product! My friend was kind enough to open her kitchen like 2 minutes away from work so I'll be able to bring in nice warm beef! Cross your fingers everyone!!

I got a 6.6 pound lovely piece of meat. I let it sit out for about 2 1/2 hours. It was room temp. The butter mixture I changed it a bit added 1/4 butter, 12 finely chopped garlic cloves, dried thyme, salt, lawrys seasoning (Chicago thing), salt and pepper to the butter. Cooked at 500 for 36 minutes. Now to play the waiting game. Unfortunately I have to transport it. An hour out. A preheated oven at 250 will be waiting for me upon arrival. I will attempt to warm it up for 20 min. I will reply with the outcome of the results in case any of you are interested. Merry Christmas!

Follow up to my earlier post. No need for warming it back up. It still was piping hot after transport. Wrapped up in foil and then a towel to retain the heat worked well. However last 10 min I turned on heat to 250. When I got to the friends house and we cut into it it was a beautifully cooked medium rare. Maybe just a tad under. Picture perfect just like the video. I took temp when pulled out of oven it was 125 a tad over maybe. After much work and I think my new stove helped out alot. I've made alot of prime ribs in different ways this has been the best yet. Done the same idea however at a lower temp and a lot shorter high temp time. Thats the key here folks that high temp and the room temp. Thanks my friend for helping me out on getting it just right.

We just finished eating some amazing prime rib, by following this recipe exactly! 8.69 lbs of beef, 45 minutes at 500 with a roaring sizzle from the oven that honestly had me pacing in the kitchen wondering what I'm going to do with the chared beef I was sure would emerge. But no, after the 2 hour resting period out came the most incredible, most delicious prime rib I have ever tasted!! I kept repeating to my wife my disbelief that anything this good could come from our kitchen. Amazing! Thank you so much! The Au Jus also turned out great as did the Horseraddish sauce! I will never demonstrate such a lack of faith for one of your recipes again! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

RPM, yes, that sounds like your oven may be a bit off, but the better question is, if you had a temperature probe in the meat the whole time, and could see the temperatures, why didn't you pull the meat out before it got to 142?

Chef John you are the best. Been coming to this site for some time now and enjoyed many of your recipe's. My daughter called to ask if I knew how to cook prime rib and I had just seen this post and wanted to try it myself, so I steered her in this direction, we talked it through and at 7 this evening enjoyed the best prime rib I have ever eaten. It came out just as you described. It was done exactly right. The only thing I regret was having to leave the bones with them for a much anticipated midnight snack. We have already scheduled re-do this Sunday at 3:00.This is a must try recipe! Thanks for your efforts. KenFitz

Chef John you are the best. Been coming to this site for some time now and enjoyed many of your recipe's. My daughter called to ask if I knew how to cook prime rib and I had just seen this post and wanted to try it myself, so I steered her in this direction, we talked it through and at 7 this evening enjoyed the best prime rib I have ever eaten. It came out just as you described. It was done exactly right. The only thing I regret was having to leave the bones with them for a much anticipated midnight snack. We have already scheduled re-do this Sunday at 3:00.This is a must try recipe! Thanks for your efforts. KenFitz

I have a lovely grass fed dry aged piece of prime rib thawing in the fridge right now (no, I'm not rich, just fortunate to visit a small town farmer's market at the right time.) I've studied the fine print carefully on this method and determined my oven is not a candidate. It is a small oven installed in 1972 and probably not big enough or insulated enough for this method. It makes great jerky, though, since I can hold the temp at 130 degrees effortlessly, a feat not possible with modern ovens. I'm going to play it safe and go with a traditional method.

You should've seen the look on my boyfriend's 90 year old grandma's face when she saw the perfect medium rare prime rib being sliced into. No more doubters for this foolproof method! Thanks for the recipe Chef John!

WOW! I just found this website about 3 weeks ago and I am lovin it!!!! Today, Easter Sunday, we had this prime rib. Must admit I was skeptical, but didn't need to be, came out PERFECT!!! Amazing, can't wait to keep trying your recipes. I LOVE your videos, makes it so easy to follow. Thanks for putting together such a wonderful site.

I've tried this recipe a few times and it always turns out delicious. My question to you is, why is the dripping always tried out/burnt? I am never able to make au jus out of the dripping. Please help. I plan on cooking prime rib again tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner.

I have a 16.5 lb Prime Rib that I will be trying this method on this Sunday. The math comes out to 83 min at 500 degrees. Then 2 hours with the door shut... 83 min is a really long time for 500 degrees.. Can you see any problems with using method X on 16.5 lbs? I am feeding 18 people and I don't want to ruin it.

I really want to use your method X however i have a 16.5lb prime rim with bones.. I was wondering if I should cut it in half so that I would have two 8.25lb prime ribs and cooking in the same oven and in the same large pan. Would that allow me to achieve the medium-rare with the method X. I have never done a prime rib before and I have 18 people coming over this Sunday. What are your thoughts on cutting it in half?

I've got an 8-pounder in my fridge doing some dry-aging right now. I'm so excited. This will be the first year that I cook the main course at Christmas. My mother and I have the meal all planned out so everything will be ready to go around 5pm Christmas Eve. I even know who I'm going to torture with pics of prime rib food porn. Oh, and I'm making your shrimp cocktail because for some reason my family's holiday dinners always have shellfish or bivalves.

I was also thinking now is a great time for you to put up a beef cheeks recipe. Houston is only going to be cold for so long, so I need to take advantage of braising season. I also need some instruction on butchering the things. Mine come untrimmed.

Lastly, I noticed you've done a lot of faux-smoking of meats. My siblings and I bought my father an electric smoker this Xmas, which should be much more conducive to frequent, experimental, or otherwise small-batch smoking than a big cabinet smoker or something similar. I'll email you if the results turn out well. I have high hopes for this thing.

Hi Chef John....I just bought a 15lb standing prime rib roast with this method in mind and I cant wait to try it out but after rereading your original directions asking that we use a 4 to 8 lb prime rib I'm wondering if mine is too big for this method to work? I hope that you get this message soon since we are having it for Christmas dinner in 2 days.:) Also, my mom has one of those ovens with optional cooking methods such as convectional bake, convectional roast or just plain baking. Would the convectional method throw this recipe off or should I stick with the okain baking method? Thanks again for your help...I love reading your blogs, you are awesome!Sincerely,Barbie

For ones that big I recommend doing a traditional method. Roast at 500 for 15 minutes to sear, then slow roast at 300-325 until you get your desired internal temp (125 is how I like mine). Also, just use the regular oven settings.

Chef John, I have just found your site after following a video you did on another food site and was curious about specific quantities for ingredients. My comment is that I first heard of this meathod about 5 years ago for cooking an eye of round, use 7 minutes per pound, and leave it in the oven for 2 - 2.5 hours. Melts in your mouth and so much flavour. The only roast of meat my teenagers cheer for when they hear it's supper and fight over for next days leftovers for lunch. Thanks for this one amd looking forward to trying this.

I have been reading today on this recipe. I just bought a 3lb roast. I've never done prime rib before. My husband is very skeptical that the roast will be juicy and not leather after being in the oven that long with the 500 start. I'm gonna try it and I hope I can prove him wrong!!! I'll repost when it comes out awesome!!!

Well Well Well...my husband ate his words, a little crow, and THIS AWESOME PRIME RIB!!!! I'm the one with the skeptical husband from yesterday...he had me so worried but ALAS A GREAT PRIME RIB!! He said it ranks up there with one of the best he's ever had!!! Thank you so very much!!! I just want to say that the roast was only 2.59 lbs..and it worked out great so you can go less than the 4 lb and it will turn out. I will no longer be afraid to try a Prime Rib at home. Why pay all the money at a restaurant when you can have quality at home!!!! You're the best!!!

CHEF JOHN, Thank you thank you thank you. I am so happy I followed this recipe this year. My 10 lbs prime rib turned out beautiful and amazing thanks to you. Last year i made prime rib for the first time and it was a disaster. So I was determined to not waste an expensive piece of meat again. Yours was the first recipe to pop up and the most informed. Everyone praised the beef for tasting so great.

I was very scared leaving it out for so long at room temp and the 500 oven for 50 mins but man o man... great stuff... every single bite! you ROCK! My husband and family all thank you!

Chef John you didn't disappoint yet again. first Aunt Angela's cabbage rolls, now your Method X of Prime Rib perfection! I cooked an almost 11lb beast yeasterday to perfection. I did add water to the roasting pan and all that happened was less smoke in the room and the most amazing base for my au jus. I used butter, seasoned salt, some fresh garlic and fresh parsley on my rub and it was fantastic!! Thank you again Chef John and I look foreward to more of your amazing recipes!

Chef John-I made a 5 rib 12.15 lb Prime Rib, and the method worked perfectly! I left it out of the refrigerator for about 14 hours to get a true room temperature because it was such a large Rib. It was delicious!Next time I'm thinking about reducing the initial cooking time to 4.75 min/lb to get a rare Prime Rib.Any thoughts?Thanks!

Chef John: Thank you for the Prime Rib recipe -- Method X works every time! A quick question: can you use Method X for a less expensive cut of beef? I specifically have in mind "Top Sirloin Roast" (also known by these names: Top Butt or Center-Cut Roast)??Thank you,Don

AFter the oven shuts off - where we are leaving the roast in there for 2 hours - Is it possible to leave it in there for 4 hours without messing it up? just wondering i may need to step out for a bit - ?

Hey Chef John, I tried this method for a 14 pound boneless rib roast. It turned out perfect! So to all the readers and viewers asking about boneless and larger roast sizes, yes this method works.

Side note: The rib roast that we ordered was untrimmed, so it had a large section of fat attached to the side of the roast. It added at least a 1-2 pounds in weight to the roast, and accounted for the roast coming out closer to medium than medium-rare. If you were to divide the rib roast into three sections, only the section in the middle would be considered close to medium rare, so remember to account for untrimmed fat in the roast when calculating!

I made a 2 rib, 5.25 pound roast for Christmas this year. I only left the roast out at room temp for 2 hours, as I was concerned about food safety. I also used my digital probe so I could monitor the temp. After 2 hours standing in the oven the temp was only 95, so I turned the oven back on to 325 for awhile and since it was not really rising in temp I then increased to 400 for about 15 minutes until the temp was 120. Took it out and let it rest about 15 minutes, temp rose to 127. Turned out perfect (rare/med-rare in center, medium rare the rest).

We made this for the first time as the main course for Christmas dinner this year. It came out absolutely perfectly!! To say it was the best Prime Rib ever is a complete understatement. No one knew what we were serving for dinner, but as soon as we cut into it, the entire table was in awe...thanks Chef John!!!

I have a VERY accurate and new oven and used multiple probes following results

Roast out for 9 hours and temp at 55 degrees at start weighed 7.85 lbs 500 degrees for 40 minutes.End of 40 minutes up to 74 degrees and oven off. At end of 1 hour and 20 minutes had reached 125 and oven was drifted down to 195 degrees so took out. Was great but this one time only makes me wonder about math in a new and tight oven that is electric???

Hello, My Husband and I did the Method X with Our Prime Rib Roast about a year and a half ago. I think it was done For a Feb. 14th Celebration, Valentines Day, 2010. Anyway, we took pictures of our process, and would love to post them. We just dont see how to do that. Here, we can leave a comment, but it doesnt give anyplace that we can see to post our pictures. We loved how the Roast turned out. Shane And Shelly

Hello, My Husband and I did the Method X with Our Prime Rib Roast about a year and a half ago. I think it was done For a Feb. 14th Celebration, Valentines Day, 2010. Anyway, we took pictures of our process, and would love to post them. We just dont see how to do that. Here, we can leave a comment, but it doesnt give anyplace that we can see to post our pictures. We loved how the Roast turned out. Shane And Shelly

Hello Chef John! I am a big fan! I have used the Method X for making prime rib and it came out wonderfully. Great video instructions. I have a question regarding timing for sides. I notice you have a beautiful baked potato served with your prime rib. With the oven taken up with the prime rib, when do you have time to bake potatoes along with it? Do you have two ovens, throw the potatoes in during the sear time and leave them in the oven for the 2 hour wait? Would love some advice!

No, I wouldn't add anything else to the oven. You need to do sides that can be cooked on the stovetop, or toasted oven, or microwave, etc. Don't remember how I did the potato, but maybe was just a prop!

Wow! I have never before made a Prime Rib in my life, but took your advice Chef John, and followed your directions to the letter! The result? The most amazing Prime Rib any of us have ever eaten! PERFECTION!!! Oh, and I also watched your instructional video on flipping stuff in a pan, and wow'd my little girl while I flipped portabello mushrooms I was cooking. Thank you so much for your awesome recipes, videos and sense of humor! :)

My roast was 4.85 lbs which meant I had it in the oven for approx 25 minutes at 500 degrees. I switched off the oven and walked away. I left the oven light on so I was able to see the thermometer.

I peeked at it 40 minutes later and the thermometer was already at 130 degrees, so I yanked it from the oven right away.

I may not have had my thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, because I used it in another area and it read only 121 degrees. Either way, I figured with the carry over cooking, it would still reach 125 (which it did).

I wanted to have my side dishes done at the same time as the roast...and sadly that didn't happen since the roast was done 1 hour and 20 minutes early....but the meat rested on the counter while I finished everything else up. When I cut into the meat my husband about had a heart attack of pure joy (not a bad way to go I'm told), it was medium rare and super moist. The boiling hot Beef Au Jus really emphasized how delicious it turned out.

We ate kinda early so we had the munchies later. We TOTALLY threw the bones back in the oven with BBQ sauce for a snack.

I am very excited to try this method for our Christmas dinner this year.. However, I have a math question.. I have had to purchse two bone in large end cut roast to accomidate everybody this year.. One roast is 7.30 lbs and the other is 6.77 for a total weight of 14.07 lbs.. Do I take the "Total" weight of the two roast and 14.07 x 5 for a 1 hour and 11 minute cook time @ 500 degrees.. or do I use the weight of the larger roast 7.30 x 5 for a 37 minuted cook time @ 500.. I do not want to kill Christmas dinner this year.. Thank you

This is my fourth time making a prime rib using your method and it has been a huge success every time! I have always used large cuts....8 bones, about 14-15 pounders! I use the directions EXACTLY and it turns out PERFECT! Thank you so much for sharing!!!

I just put in a 15.88 lb, 6 bone, monster prime rib. It'll sear at 500º for 80 minutes before we let it begin the resting process. This is almost twice as bit as the last one we did. I'll report back with the results.

The process still worked very well, but it seems like the math breaks down a little at some point. Instead of getting consistent medium-rare end-to-end like we do with the 8-9 lb roasts we got several well-done full slices at the edges and a thicker about 1.5" crust throughout. It was still very good, but if we do one this large again, we'll probably turn off the oven at 1 hour, maybe 70 minutes.

Hope this helps anyone doing larger roasts in the years to come. This is still the best prime rib recipe I've ever tasted.

made this exactly as stated yesterday, it was PERFECT! 8 lb rib roast. DELICIOUS! I've tried several ways to make this and we always end up waiting for it to be done b/c it's still raw in the middle. Not this year! thanks!

Would the math be the same if I put in two roasts at a time? Feeding 6 adults + 3 children, so I was going to get two smaller roasts instead of one big one. I have two ovens, but was going to use the lower oven to make roasted potatoes. Thanks!

Another commenter said they used this method for a 2.5lb prime rib with success so I went ahead and tried it with mine. Very said to say that it did not work for me. I followed the formula and just 20 minutes after turning the oven off my prime rib was over 140. I'll try this again only if I have the recommemded size roast.

i just saw your video on how to cook the perfect prime rib road, just wondering i want to make gravy no where does it mention adding water to the pan while cooking it, can I, and also do you cover yours with a lid or tin foil, also what type of pan do you recommend, a glass or your typical roasting pan...thx

My Mom used to use a very similar technique for years and years. She called it a "no peak" roast, and she used any cut of beef roast. With 6 kids and a super hungry Dad, she actually had to duct tape the oven door closed so we wouldn't open it!! One of my newer ovens doesn't work with this method, however. Once you turn the heat OFF, a fan takes over to bring the temperature of the oven down quicker. There's no way to disable it, either. I'm experimenting, but it is an expensive test lab using prime rib! Any suggestions? I'm trying to keep it on by using the Bread Proof setting for the 2 hours. Stay tuned.

Tom, I have a Jenn Aire oven that has an internal fan ... we've done the roasts using this method quite a few times & it worked great .... my son said he'd have liked the meat a little hotter, but it was done through & a perfect med. rare.

I already ransomed my youngest to afford this beautiful 8 lb prime rib. It is boneless. Does this throw off the whole "Method X" formula? I'm thinking I just raise it on a shallow rack in the pan. Thoughts anyone?

Chef John, our electric oven has an automatic cooling fan that comes on when the oven shuts off is this going to be a problem when the meat sits in there after searing? Thanks! I have an 8 lb prime rib. Thanks!

Greetings Chef! I have a question that I am trying to find an answer to. I am DEPENDING on this very simple recipe for my Prime Rib. I'm an engineer and I doodle with a protractor (meaning no creativity, anything I do needs exact instructions!). My question has to do with the oven type. I've got an Electrolux double oven. It has so many different cooking types like Convection Roasting, etc. I'm not sure if you know what is the typical setting for this type of oven? Also, it has a fan that circulates the oven's heat evenly and continuously within the oven. Will that cause any issues during the 2 hour time when the meat continues to cook? Please let me know! I love your site!!!

Chef. Merry Christmas! I can't wait to cook my 9+ lb rib roast today using this method today. One question I haven't seen addressed: I "dry aged" my 9.65 lb rib roast for almost a week. I do not have an accurate means to weigh the roast so I' "guessing" the weight now is 9.5 lbs. Any thoughts on weight loss when dry aging? Thanks again for your videos/blog site.